STAFF REPORT

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ROSEMONT, Illinois — On the weekend of Saturday, May 4, Danville High School joined 151 of the top quiz bowl teams from small public high schools at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare for the 2019 Small School National Championship Tournament to determine who was the best.

Quiz bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. It is the national version of the game that is often locally called Quick Recall. Quiz bowl teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports, and popular culture.  The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.

The team, in the Traditional Public Schools Division, consisted of Sofie Farmer, Eli Gooch, Benjamin Link, and Emma Webb. The team was coached by Rob Kremer.

Danville was one of seven Kentucky teams competing at the national championship.

Danville began the preliminary rounds with a three-game winning streak, in which they defeated Baxter from Iowa, Geneva B from New York, and Williamsville from Illinois. They finished the preliminary rounds with a 6-4 record, which qualified them for the playoffs.

Danville High School played Glasgow A from near home in round 15, suffering a 385-315 defeat.

There were some tense moments.  Danville suffered a heartbreakingly narrow loss to Macomb from Illinois, 265-255 during round 8 and defeated Cloverleaf from Lodi, Ohio by the narrow margin of 290-280 during round 14. 

Danville had a very challenging path to the playoffs.  They were on the brink of elimination when they defeated Branford from Florida and Pettisville A from Ohio in succession to stay alive.  Danville was once again on the brink of elimination when they defeated Williamsville from Illinois in round 16 to stay alive.  Unfortunately, they lost to Bridge Creek from Blanchard, Oklahoma, ending their shot at the title.

Danville High School finished in eleventh place in the Traditional Public Schools Division. 

The Traditional Public Schools Division champion was the A team from Glasgow High School Glasgow, Kentucky.  The Open Division champion was the A team from The Miami Valley School Dayton, Ohio. 

The 2019 Small School National Championship Tournament (Traditional Public Schools Division)’s field featured 80 teams from 20 states.